WICKED to Offer Lottery for $25 Tickets at Hobby Center

A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of orchestra seats will be held for WICKED, which is returning to Houston at the Hobby Center with performances from July 10-August 11. Two and one-half hours prior to each performance, people who present themselves at the Hobby Center box office will have their names placed in a lottery drum; thirty minutes later, names will be drawn for a limited number of orchestra seats at $25 each, cash only. This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person. Lottery participants must have a valid photo ID when submitting their entry form and, if chosen, when purchasing tickets.

WICKED, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (GODSPELL, PIPPIN, Disney's Enchanted, Academy Award winner for POCAHONTAS and THE PRINCE OF EGYPT) and book by Winnie Holzman ("My So Called Life," "Once And Again" and "thirtysomething"), is based on the 1995 best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire. The musical is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (TAKE ME OUT, LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION!, THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES) and features musical staging by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento (AIDA, THE WHO'S TOMMY, HOW TO SUCCEED...). WICKED, the untold story of the witches of Oz, is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One - born with emerald green skin - is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

WICKED features set design by Tony Award winner Eugene Lee (RAGTIME, SHOW BOAT, CANDIDE, SWEENEY TODD), costume design by Tony winnerSusan Hilferty (SPRING AWAKENING, INTO THE WOODS, ASSASSINS), lighting design by Tony winner Kenneth Posner (Tony Award winner for THE COAST OF UTOPIA, HAIRSPRAY) and sound design by Tony Meola (THE LION KING). Stephen Oremus is the show's music director. Orchestrations are byWilliam David Brohn, with dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott.

WICKED has "cast quite a spell" (Washington Post) throughout North America, breaking box office records in every city that it has played, including Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Boston to name a few.

WICKED has been declared "A Cultural Phenomenon" by Variety and "The Best Musical of the Decade" by Entertainment Weekly. There are currently 7 productions worldwide: New York, London, Holland, Japan, Australia/New Zealand, and two concurrent North American Tours. Globally, WICKED has amassed over $2.9 billion in ticket sales and has been seen by 36 million people worldwide in its 9-year history.

WICKED will return to the Hobby Center beginning Wednesday, July 10. The performance schedule is as follows: Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m., and an additional matinee performance Thursday, July 11 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at the Hobby Center Box Office Monday-Friday: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., all Ticketmaster outlets, online atwww.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com/Houston and www.Ticketmaster.com/Wicked. Tickets can also be purchased by calling (800) 982-2787. Good seats are still available. For the best seating selection, please check Tuesday through Thursday evenings and Sunday evening performances.